Advantage Quote by Scott Adams
“Highly intelligent and well-informed people disagree on every political issue. Therefore, intelligence and knowledge are useless for making decisions, because if any of that stuff helped, then all the smart people would have the same opinions. So use your "gut instinct" to make voting choices. That is exactly like being clueless, but with the added advantage that you'll feel as if your random vote preserved democracy.”
About This Quote
Intelligence and knowledge alone don't guarantee consensus, so decisions may feel arbitrary.
In simple terms: Smart people can still disagree, making gut feelings seem appealing.
Key Takeaway
Don't rely solely on intuition for civic choices.
Themes
politics
decisionmaking
intelligence
Mood
skeptical
reflective
Type
advice
philosophical
When to use this quote
- voting
- public debate
- policy formation
Key Concepts
cognitive bias
groupthink
epistemic humility
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you balance expertise with personal judgment?
- What safeguards ensure informed voting?
A Different Perspective
Gut instincts can ignore evidence and lead to poor outcomes.
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
